Metered Access

Crain's Detroit Business is a metered site. Print and digital subscribers have unlimited access to stories, but registered users are limited to eight stories every 30 days. After viewing three metered stories, you'll be asked to register or log in. After eight more stories in 30 days, you'll be asked to subscribe.

Detroit recovery is subject of new Wayne State course

The ongoing efforts to turn around bankrupt Detroit will be the subject of a course starting this spring at Wayne State University.

The Detroit school announced this week that "Detroit: Metropolis in Transition" will run from May 7 to July 23, and is open to Wayne State students, guest students and non-degree-seeking professionals. It will meet Wednesday evenings at the school.

The Department of Urban Studies and Planning course is structured as a guest lecture series. Detroit's state-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr is among the scheduled speakers, the school said. Orr took the city into bankruptcy last summer and is a key player in the ongoing restructuring.

Other scheduled speakers include Kenneth Cockrel Jr., former Detroit City Council president and interim mayor of Detroit' Paul Hillegonds, executive director of the Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority, and urban experts from WSU, the school said.

"History is being made almost every day here in Detroit," Robin Boyle, a professor in Wayne State University's Center for Urban Planning, said in a statement. "From urban economic development and housing to food planning and community development, there isn't a more dynamic urban environment."

In addition to weekly lectures, students will learn about Detroit's past and present, and go on field trips to destinations of interest throughout the city. The course will close with presentations on visions for the city going forward, including the Detroit Future City effort.